Friday February 20, 2009
1APK03
Echo becomes the ultimate outdoorswoman when she is is hired by a handsome young client named Richard, but it may turn out that neither of the pair is what they seem to be. Meanwhile, Agent Ballard receives a clue about Echo's past, and we learn about Dr. Saunders' scars and the rogue active "Alpha".
Write a Recap »Come on Whedon, show us something daring. hide show
Things improve slightly this week but the essential problem illustrated so prominently in 'Ghost' still remains: the writing staff turn the attention of their stories to the minutiae of the actives' missions when actually, the most interesting element of the show is the concept of the Dollhouse itself. We'd rather turn the microscope inwards, examining the possibilities of the imprint process and the intrigue that seems to bleed from the walls of DuWitt's facility, than plod along with Echo as she tries to fulfil the fantasy of whichever multi-millionaire has hired out her services this week. To be fair to Steven S. DeKnight, he does add a considerable amount to the show's burgeoning mythology, hinting at the rather more sinister side of the Dollhouse equation through the character of the demented, mysterious and elusive Alpha. The idea of a 'rogue' active is a superlative one as it automatically pervades the narrative with a sense of apprehensive tension: the viewer is aware that the character could return at any time, and in any aspect, since his identity is carefully and cleverly left to our collective imagination. DeKnight does a wonderful job of cementing his position as a formidable foe too, coating the dialogue that references him in fear, anxiety and the laconic, and providing a shocking and rather repulsive explanation of the excellently realised scars on Dr. Saunders's face. It's a brave move to disfigure a central character and keep the injury consistent, especially in the rather glossy, picture-perfect and pristine world of American television. Good on you Whedon, good to see that your penchant for the horrific didn't end at a few episodes of eye-less Xander in season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Elsewhere, the A-storyline is passable if rather predictable; Dushku and Conlen play the roles of hunted and hunter perfectly admirably, but it's obvious from the moment that the crazy SOB turns on her that she'll escape from his clutches in the end and more than likely have some sort of epiphany about her status as a doll. It's a shame, again, that the show insists on concentrating on this sort of conventional, tried-and-tested plot when it has a wealth of untapped narratalogical gold at its fingertips. Come on Whedon, show us something daring.
This was totally "Wrong Turn" without the gimpy cannibals hide show
This week Echo (Eliza Dushku) is made to order for a guy named Richard, for a seemingly romantic adventure weekend, Richard's CV states Handsome guy looking for love, has good sense of humour, likes white water rafting, rock climbing and hunting, seems easy enough, except it doesn't mention he is totally psychotic and the hunting he likes is hunting down his girlfriends to see if they deserve to survive, armed with a cross bow, he gives Echo a head start before he chases her through the woods firing arrows at her, she screams alot, runs, hides behind tree's, finds dead bodies,and when she finally manages to get some help he is shot with an arrow.. does this sound familiar to anyone.
Ok so her help comes from a guy at the dollhouse who she has been programmed to know as her protector, so the plot changes there, she has been poisoned and also her vitals are being monitored, trouble is the guy monitoring them is held at gun point and has to report back to the dollhouse that everything is ok.
You also find out abit about some Alpha guy who is going round killing everyone, who is supposedly dead but could have been the guy watching Caroline's year book the week before, wait a minute Echo, Alpha, Siera.. what next Fox Trot, Bravo and Delta, they are following the phonetic alphabet a bit, at least Victor and Charlie will have normal names.
Anyway eventually Echo goes a bit Faith and toughens up, with the help of a large gun, and the knowledge shes programmed with.
This is actually one time she can be thankful for getting her brain fried straight after she gets back to the dollhouse, cos it was a pretty traumatic experience and she just thinks she fell asleep again, but her protector seems to have a soft spot for her, even if she cant remember a thing, Im guessing she will remember somethings though cos she's dreaming about that killer Alpha alot too.
Dont get me wrong I enjoyed "Wrong Turn" so this wasnt too bad, but it kind of felt like seen it all before.
Hunted
Written And Directed by Steven S. DeKnight
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Adelle: "If you're amenable to the terms of your contract you will be assigned to Echo, one of our most requested Actives."
Boyd: "What happened to her last handler?"
Claire: "You're standing in him."
After a surprisingly underwhelming pilot episode, it's nice to know that the second episode gave viewers more of a glimpse of the excellence that could be achieved. The episode might have some bumps but it's an improvement from "Ghost" and that's as good a place to start.
We've seen her as a hostage negotiator and a date for some random rich bastard, so episode two makes her a random date for another rich bastard. I'll halt the groaning because even though Connell's spiel about wanting to be with an honest woman isn't as nauseating as it should be.
The date in question is also a little more adventurous than a motorcycle race. It's the outdoorsy type of experiences where rock climbing and archery are on top of the list. Sure, Connell also got his wicked way with Echo but if the idea of Actives being used for sexual purposes was hard to swallow, then so is killing them.
It should've been obvious from the moment Connell started mouthing off about having the right to live – shoulder to the wheel and the like. Connell believes himself worthy of survival because of his ability to take down prey. Unfortunately for Echo, she's gone from date to target practice, proving that some men really are bastards.
This is something of an unoriginal and uninspired premise, very horror in its setting (of course they'd have to be the woods because a fight for survival on a beach isn't going to have the same kind of resonance) but there's some psychological elements that actually make you care about the episode.
Unknowing of her surroundings and pretty much kept away from Boyd, Echo literally was without a paddle in an episode where she had to fight for her life. Maybe she should trade places with Alex Drake. 1982 is moderately safer in comparison that being stalked by Robin Hood gone very bad.
For the most part, there's a lot of running on Echo's part and being tricked into drinking poisoned water wasn't the smartest of things that could've happened to her. Connell clearly didn't want to kill her there and then, which was strange but maybe he really is the type of person who feels he deserved a worthy adversary.
Partly drugged out in a weird way brought some stuff to the surface for Echo. As good as Topher blathers on about his imprinting prowess, there's no chance that Caroline could be completely eradicated. Echo kept seeing little bits of Caroline, almost trying to piece the bits together. It'd be too simple if she got to connect the dots this early in the series but it's good that parts of Caroline are seeping through, given the abhorrence of what is generally happening to her.
The interesting part of this episode should've been her final smackdown with Connell. It wasn't but it didn't lack either. After Echo got bored with trying to understand what would compel him to hunt her down like an animal, she decided to get more vengeance like in her approach. Connell shooting Boyd as well contributed to that.
Connell's death didn't exactly reek of poetry but heck if I'm going to feel sorry for him. His death however did confirm that someone really is watching. Undoubtedly the person is Alpha and it's equally obvious that he was the one to hire Connell to test Echo out.
Alpha was also the same person who left that nice little envelope there for Paul as well with Caroline's picture. Paul is still a weak point for me this episode, what with him being a laughing stock by his co-workers, harassing Lubov/Victor and being seemingly harassed by overly affectionate neighbour Mellie.
I'm not going to pretend that I think Mellie is a doll because I would be incredibly surprised if she wasn't. Mellie showing up just as Dominic and Adelle argued over on how to deal with Paul butting his nose into the Dollhouse. Dominic wanted to kill him but Adelle clearly thinks that having someone spy on him is a better solution. She's probably right.
As for the rest of the episode, the use of flashbacks to explain a violent incident three months prior certainly had its point. We learned that Boyd replaced Echo's old handler after he wound up a casualty of mad Alpha's killing spree. In fact, there were a lot of casualties during that. It was also Boyd who believed that Alpha was behind the set up for Echo, though Claire was all too quick to dismiss the idea.
It was because of Alpha we learned that Claire's face was badly sliced up but apart from the Alpha information dump (why did he spare Echo?), the flashbacks also helped established Boyd's introduction and disgust with the Dollhouse.
He pretty much treated Topher with contempt when he realised that he was responsible for botching up Alpha and he also didn't treat Echo like a real person. However this episode more than showed that Boyd cares for her and the Active/Handler dynamic is pretty Slayer/Watcher like anyway in the general feel of it.
Another bonus with the episode was Dominic. His desire to kill Paul is one thing but the iciness towards Echo at the end of the episode was something else. He noted that people tended to die around her and he treated her with glaring contempt as well. He's very likely to be a dangerous threat to her and by extension to the Dollhouse as well. That might not sit well with Adelle who at the start of the episode did issue a thinly veiled threat to Connell if he hurted Echo. Not that an act of protectiveness like that would still make me think Adelle is doing the right thing with this organisation.
Also in "The Target"
The lighting for the flashbacks was a little jarring at the start, kind of similar to some episodes of Battlestar Galactica.
Topher: "What's the magic word?"
Boyd: "Please?"
Topher: "I was looking for abracadabra but that'll do."
Topher talked about Actives being vulnerable when they're not programmed. Isn't that similarly stupid to giving them impairments like breathing difficulties?
Tanaka (to other FBI agent): "Agent Ballard is telling us to investigate. Thanks for the tip."
Boyd: "You telling me you programmed one of your Dolls to be Jack The Ripper?"
Dominic: "Not my department."
Dominic mentioned in the episode that he would put Echo in the Attic if he had the choice or kill her. I can only imagine that isn't a good place to be.
Paul (re envelope): "Where'd this come from?"
FBI Agent: "Granny left it. Man, her teeth were big."
Boyd (re Actives): "Look at them. Bunch of helpless children. Did the ones Alpha slaughter even put up a fight?"
Topher: "They wouldn't know how."
Alpha was able to slice his victims in eight seconds because of the surgical skills that had been imprinted on him at the time.
Adelle (re Paul): "I think you overestimate his abilities."
Dominic: "Even a blind dog can find a bone if he digs enough holes."
Echo (to Connell): "You know what gives someone the right to live? Not hunting them!"
Some sci-fi favourites were in this episode with Mark Sheppard as Tanaka and Matt Keeslar as Connell.
Ranger: "I don't know, I swear to God."
Boyd: "He's not listening."
Mellie (re Echo/Caroline): "Is she in trouble?"
Paul: "Maybe or she got caught up with the wrong people. Either way I'll keep looking until I find her."
Mellie: "Lucky her."
If Mellie is a Doll, then Adelle must have been aware of Paul snooping around for some time because Paul definitely knew Mellie for a while by his attitude with her.
Boyd (re gun): "Do you know how to use this?"
Echo: "Four brothers. None of them Democrats."
Connell (to Echo): "Is this the best date ever or what?"
Standout music: "Get Out" by The Vines and "Leave It On" by Deorentos. Also Sierra didn't appear in this episode.
Echo: "I'm gonna go swim in the pool."
Dominic: "If it were up to me, I'd put you in the Attic or in the ground."
Chronology: We know that Boyd's been working with Echo for at least three months but we still don't know how long in her five year contract Echo has been working for the Dollhouse.
This was way better but I've liked Steven S. DeKnight's work on Buffy/Angel for the most part, so his trademark wit for "The Target" and moments of horror and psychological testing made me a little more invested in the overall story. Good job.
A fantastic second episode, twice as strong as the first, showing this series has enormous potential. hide show
I wasn't sure about Dollhouse after the pilot, it didn't really impress me but this episode really did. I am definitely going to watch this from now on.
3 Months ago – an alarm goes off and the 'actives' are hurried to their beds before the security team does their sweep. The reason for the drama is 'Alpha' who has had a 'composite event', namely the erasures haven't taken. This means they've got someone loose who has all of the knowledge and training he's been given over the years which makes him near unstoppable. He's the one who cut up Saunders. Langdon was brought on board right after Alpha escaped, the bodies are still in the offices. He asks the question: why didn't Alpha kill Echo? Langdon comes up with a nice analogy for the 'dolls' – "She's just an empty hat, until you stuff a rabbit in her."
Agents have found the scene of the kid's rescue and Ballard is here because he thinks the Dollhouse is involved and they scoff at him, yet their theory is based on a mystery fifth kidnapper who blew the door open, who carries a huge gun and took the money? Are they really going to put that garbage in a report? The same mystery guy who was watching Echo's tapes in the pilot is sending Ballard clues, including a photo of Echo.
The Dollhouse certainly is a full-service organization. Pretty boy doesn't want a partner to do extreme sports with, he wants to hunt her! That's the special extra service he paid for. The part no-one was counting on was the client hiring someone to get between Langdon and Echo. He intends to kill Echo. Shouldn't they have code words for situations like this? Especially with Alpha running around loose? They have taken the opposite precaution, deliberately creating an imprinted bond with her handler so that she will trust him no matter what. At first, Langdon deliberately distances himself from her because like he said, she's a doll, not the real person and she changes with every imprint.
A side-effect of Richard's drugging and half-drowning makes Echo have flashes of Alpha killing at the Dollhouse. Langdon manages to get to Echo but she has the wrong imprint for this situation and he's shocked when she doesn't respond correctly to his code-phrase. She's having the same problem that Alpha is, flashes of real life and her other identities, and that will save their lives.
The Dollhouse really has to review their background check procedures because they suck! Whoever Richard really is, he knew Alpha who seems to have directed him to Echo, and then Alpha killed the guy Langdon subdued. Even better, they lied about Alpha being dead. I feel for Saunders, she survived a horrific attack which left her horribly scarred and then to find out her attacker is alive and well. The head of security is naturally feeling pretty hostile toward Echo and is particularly nasty to her, even when she doesn't know what he's talking about. But this is the first truly overt sign that Echo's starting to remember – she slaps her shoulder the same way Richard did.
Wow, I'm impressed. I wasn't with the pilot but if this is an example of what the series will be, I'm hooked.
OUTstanding. Dementey, Kinky, but outstanding. hide show
Wow. I mean wow. This was candyland for deep twisted fantasies - leaving us all wondering if the platform really needs to be so outlandish to make the same ethical points.
Echo - is really living up to her names. They really need to sort out her kinky coding. But then again, we don't really know if the same holds true for the other dolls. Yes she is living the "dream" - which seems to turn into nightmares more often than not. Is the sacrifice of free will really a price anyone should be faced with?
The handler - Echo now has a daddy who loves her so much. He played the beginning of the transition from an unwilling protector to a doting father figure rather well.
Alpha - a bent slasher. A twisted firestarter. With a crush on our girl. Freaky awesomeness.
Who are we - our personalities really are formed by memories and experiences. Would we all be so different if things had not panned out the way they have for us? What makes us human? Are we all just echoes of our pasts?
And so the plot thickens.
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